Patriarch Kirill sez St Vladimir’s 1,000-Year Legacy Gives Russia Hope for the Future

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Speaking at a liturgy dedicated to the millennium anniversary of the death of Grand Prince St Vladimir the Great, who introduced Christianity to Kievan Rus, Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev of Moscow and all the Russias explained that the most significant takeaway from St Vladimir’s legacy is our need to save contemporary humanity from the contemporary idolatry. Speaking at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow before believers and delegates from over a dozen Local Eastern Orthodox Churches, he noted that St Vladimir decided to abandon paganism and convert to Christianity in line with the prevailing mood among his people.

Vladyki Kirill stated, “[St Vladimir] received baptism from clergy of the Church of Constantinople in Korsun, near present-day Sevastopol. It wasn’t possible for him to make such a profound turn, not only in his own soul, but also for many of his people, as a mere frivolity. His relationship to others, to his people, had changed, and around him, the people themselves began to change. This was probably the only case in our history where the recognition of the prince came from the depths of the peoples’ own lives. Who were the pagan gods of the Kiev pantheon? They were man-made symbols of human passions and human turmoil. The Christian ideal, with time, and not without difficulty, entered the lives of our people. We called ourselves ‘Holy Rus’ because the most sublime, authentic, and unfading ideal of human life was the ideal of holiness”.

“A thousand years after St Vladimir’s death, humanity once again stands at the threshold of a spiritual choice. Contemporary humanity creates idols far more terrible than those like Kievan Perun; we see how crime and war engulf the world, as if human life is worth nothing in our enlightened age. Many people today have consciously rejected the ideal of holiness in favour of the worship the ideals of self-gratification, consumerism, and selfishness. Others are cast adrift and accept whatever falls on them from the colossal information flow, no longer able to distinguish between good and evil. If we don’t let our history and our culture, which emerged from this ideal, and which absorbed this ideal, turn back to those same idols, then, we’d have hope for the future… for the building of a peaceful, fair, equitable life, centred around the immortal ideal of holiness, of human goodness, reason, generosity, love and hope. Bowing down before the memory of Grand Prince St Vladimir, we ask him to be with us, to enlighten our people, to help our youth realise the feats of all those who created Holy Rus, and to help those who are ready to strive for this Rus in our time to struggle first with the sin which is inside all of us”.

Celebrations Across Russia and the Orthodox World

Russia is celebrating the Millennium Anniversary of the death of Grand Prince St Vladimir on a national scale, and the Orthodox world is celebrating too. In Russia the day serves as a double celebration, the festivities also marked the Christianisation of Russia. The high-point of the two-day observance will take place Tuesday in Moscow, when together with foreign Orthodox hierarchs, the MP will commemorate the life and works of Grand Prince St Vladimir. The Kremlin is also set to hold a gala reception for Church representatives hosted by President V V Putin. For its part, the UPTs/MP, which remains the Ukraine’s largest religious body, is holding a liturgy to honour Grand Prince St Vladimir at the Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra, headed by Metropolitan Onufry Berezovsky of Kiev and all the Ukraine. Unfortunately, Ukrainian officials decided not to attend the event. For his part, junta strongman P A Poroshenko and his wife attended a separate celebration at St Vladimir Cathedral, under the schismatic so-called “Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate (UPTs/KP)”, a renegade body unrecognised by the world Orthodoxy. Following the Maidan coup d’état last year, relations between the canonical UPTs/MP and the “Kievan” schismatics deteriorated badly, with the UPTs/MP outraged over “Patriarch” F A Denisenko’s comments demanding that the USA and Europe provide assistance to the Kiev junta for its aggression against the DNR and the LNR.

Celebrating Over a Thousand Years of Christendom

The Christianisation of Kievan Rus began in 988, associated with Grand Prince St Vladimir, who has since been given the title “Great” by the state, sainthood by the Church, and the epithet “Red Sun” by the people. Vladimir ruled Kievan Rus from 980 to 1015; he abandoned paganism and accepted Christianity eight years into his rule. According to the Primary Chronicle, emissaries from differing faiths travelled to visit St Vladimir beginning in 986, each attempting to convince the ruler to accept their own faith. St Vladimir also sent out his own envoys to visit the nine nations from which the emissaries had come, asking them to describe the religious customs and rituals of these country. St Vladimir’s marriage to Princess Anna, daughter of Roman Emperor Romanos II and Empress Theophano in 988, resulted first in his baptism, then, in the mass baptism of the people of Kiev, rich and poor alike, afterwards. After Kiev, other cities of Kievan Rus gradually Christianised, with the Christianisation of what eventually became contemporary Russia continuing into the 12th century. Many historians believe that adopting a new unifying faith was a serious spur to unifying the Russian lands. The Christianisation of Rus allowed Russia to find its civilisational identity, and its place between Europe and Asia.

28 July 2015

Sputnik International

http://sputniknews.com/art_living/20150728/1025127123.html

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Mob of Armed Banderovtsy Surround the Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra; Demand it Join the Schismatic Uncanonical “Kiev Patriarchate”

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Vasili Anisimov, the head of the UOC/MP press service, told Interfax-Religion that, on Saturday night, armed men surrounded the Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra and demanded its immediate transfer to the self-proclaimed schismatical uncanonical “Kiev Patriarchate“. He said, “According to our information, about 70 armed militants put up guard posts around the Lavra, went inside, let no one in or out, and said that the Rada will transfer the monastery to the so-called ‘Kiev Patriarchate’ in the near future”. He added that, according to some reports, there might be as many as 300 armed radicals outside the Lavra. He said, “There’s much ferment amongst the activists. The monks are trying to negotiate with them, but I just received information that they plan to capture the Lavra with an armed mob”.

23 February 2014

KPRF.ru

KPRF official website

Editor’s Note:

The oppos are trying to claim that they’re not behind this. I’d say that the events of the past 48 hours prove them to be liars and backstabbers of the first order. They’re terrorists… and the USA and EU sic them on! This means that no Orthodox person can support the West… it means that Paffhausen and Potapov have to renounce their ties with their rightwing K Street pals and the Washington Times Moonie filth. However, they won’t… apparently, their goofy Hard Right politics mean more to them than Christ does, sadly enough. DO NOT HATE… however, do mark down who supports the enemies of the Orthosphere… John Jillions does (he was a paid minion of the Uniates)… Lyonyo Kishkovsky does (he’s on the CFR)… I’ve named Potapov and Paffso… Rod Dreher, Patrick Henry Reardon, and all the other konvertsy flotsam do… DO NOT ATTACK THEM… OPPOSE THEM. There’s a difference. You can’t reach into the gutter (even if they do). We’re Christians and we can oppose those who support the enemies of Christ’s Church, but we must never ever stoop to their methods. NEVER. That’s the most important takeaway, kids…

Things will get worse before they get better, I fear… a dark night has fallen over Little Russia, and America‘s greedy machinations are largely to blame for it. It’s enough to make me hurl… I have to walk away for a while… the taste of TREASON is never sweet…

BMD

 

A Plea for Peace at the Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra

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On 22 January, with the blessing of Metropolitan Vladimir Sabodan of Kiev and all the Ukraine, there was a molieben at the Assumption Cathedral of the Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra for the Ukrainian Day of National Unity. At the head of the clergy were Metropolitan Pavel Lebed of Vyshgorod and Chernobyl (Metropolitan Vicar), the Superior of the Lavra, and Metropolitan Antony Pakanich of Borispol and Brovary, the Chancellor of the UOC/MP. Concelebrating were Bishop Ilarion Shishkovsky of Makarov (Vicar of the Diocese of Kiev), Bishop Iosif Maslennikov of Romny and Buryn, Bishop Feodosy Snigiryov of Boyarka (Vicar of the Diocese of Kiev), Bishop Varsonofy Stolyar of Borodyanka (Vicar of the Diocese of Kiev), Bishop Damian Davydov of Fastov (Vicar of the Diocese of Kiev), and Bishop Nikolai Pochtovy of Vasilkov (Vicar of the Diocese of Kiev), along with many other clergy; besides this, many believers attended, including, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, Secretary of the National Security and Defence of the Ukraine Andrei Klyuyev, General Procurator of the Ukraine Viktor Pshonka, and Anatoly Prisyazhnyuk (former SBU general), the head of the Kiev Regional State Administration.

Before starting the service, referring to present events in Kiev, Metropolitan Antony urged believers to raise fervent prayer to God to end the violence and bring reconciliation of the warring parties. During the past day, there have been violent confrontations between police and rioters. A representative of the website Orthodoxy in the Ukraine asked Metropolitan Antony to give some comments on the continuing crisis. Vladyki Antony said, “Today, we celebrate the Ukrainian Day of National Unity with a sense of sadness and grief. The country is on the brink of the abyss. This morning, all of us heard the shocking news about the latest clashes in the centre of Kiev and the death of one of the rioters. Again, and yet again, the Church demands a stop to the violence. People! Come to your senses! Opposition leaders should make every effort to stop the rioters attacking the police. Straight away, the authorities and opposition should sit down at the negotiating table. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church reaffirms its readiness to mediate in such negotiations. This day is a symbol of the Ukrainian land’s unity and of the Ukrainian people’s unity. However, today, we show the world not collegiality, but confrontation and conflict. We can’t have a strong state if there’s no unity amongst the people, in which there’s no dialogue between the government, opposition, and civil society. We offer prayers for our country and for our people. May the Lord give us the wisdom not to destroy our own country, not to drown in the depths of Civil War”.

22 January 2014

Patriarchia.ru

MP official website

http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/3533743.html

Editor’s Note:

Do note that the pro-Western suck-up Klichko didn’t show up. The only reason that Viktor Fyodorovich hasn’t crushed the criminal rioters without mercy as they deserve is that he’s a loyal spiritual son of the late Elder Zosima Sokur. He’s shown forbearance and patience with these unruly and violent elements. I think that if the rioters refuse to stop their thuggery, it’s time to take off the gloves. The Church should bless the security forces, then, they should move in to snuff out the rebels. Perhaps, that’d lead to Galicia seceding from the rest of the Ukraine… let them go… they’d find out that “independence” isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. It’d lead to consolidation of the Orthodox Ukrainian lands… let the Uniates go… let Zakarpattya be free of Galicia (they don’t deserve oppression from the Galician nutters)… then, there’d be peace. God willing, there’d be no need of a “population exchange”… but if the Uniates refuse to live in peace with us, that might be the only course.

Why must we live in such times?

By the way, the hierarchs were mostly men below 50… only two were above 50, and none were above 60. To put it bluntly, the legit Church isn’t a Church of the elderly; it isn’t a place of senescence. Don’t listen to Uniate and American propaganda. Stand with the REAL Church… that’s our DUTY as Orthodox Christians.

BMD